Sentinel of Peace
by CancelSanity
Summary: The most ruthless enemy known to Equestria threatens to bring total destruction. Even with the help of a soldier, the ponies are at the mercy of this new threat. The ponies do everything they can to protect their homes, their lives, and their freedom.


**CHAPTER 1**

A quivering lump was all that could be seen of Fluttershy's small, yellow, pegasus body as it shivered and huddled under the covers of her bed. Her pink, flowing mane was a mess, her wings were tucked tightly at her sides, and her usually gentle turquoise eyes were wide and terror-struck. It was a dark and stormy night. Lighting cracked and split the abysmal, black sky, briefly lighting her room with a spectral flash. Everything was just as her friend Twilight had described in her ghost story, The Pale Pony of Pain. In the story, a snout-less, pale pony with furless patches would snatch up young ponies and… and… Fluttershy shut her eyes tight, trying to force the thought out of her head. Ghost stories were usually made up, but Twilight said it was true though, so it must be real, right? Her hooves clattered as they shook together, keeping in rhythm with her chattering teeth. Fluttershy adjusted herself so her hooves didn't clatter so much and shut her mouth, straining to not make any more noise. She knew The Pale Pony of Pain would find her for sure if she drew too much attention. Fluttershy desperately tried to calm down and distract herself from the spooky story by remembering what happened that led up to her make-shift bed-tent.

'_Okay, so, I was giving Angel a bath when – Oh no! Angel! Angel is still out there!'_ she panicked. Her tiny body shook even harder. She was torn between saving her dear, baby, bunny friend and the safety of her "impervious" quilt blanket. '_Maybe he'll be safe in the tub upstairs and far from the front door. The door!' _she gasped. '_I forgot to close the front door!'_ she shook her head. '_Oh… Fluttershy, you're such a scatterbrain!'_ her thoughts scolded her. Up until now, she would have been perfectly happy to stay under her covers forever. In fact, she never expected to leave her tent. Ever. But now, Angel is out there, possibly in danger.

'_Oh! What to do?' _she panicked. '_I need to make sure that Angel is safe, but The Pale Pony of Pain is still out there! Oh, but Angel is out there too,'_ she whimpered with an occasional renegade squeak softly escaping her mouth prison. She crawled to the edge of the blanket and peeked out. From what she could tell, there was nothing in the room with her besides her normal furnishings. She uncurled and stood as best she could on wobbly legs and hesitantly left the confines of the perfect hiding spot. She wobbled over to the room's door frame. She tried to make as little sound as possible as she walked, which was difficult considering that her hooves were always loud against the wood floor. She stealthily made her way to the bathroom, constantly observing her surroundings. It was in the house. She could _feel_ it.

The bathroom door was still open just as she left it, but she immediately noticed something terribly wrong. Little wet puddles led out from the bathroom towards the stairs. She stared at the puddles for a moment before a horrible mixture of immense fear, pain of loss, and worry all rocketed through her. Angel was downstairs with it. Her motherly instincts push her to look for her baby bunny. Fluttershy cautiously peered down the stairs from the second floor. At first, she recoils at the sight of the spooky visitor, but before she could hide, she catches a small, trembling, white ball huddled in the corner to the left of the stairs. '_Angel!'_ her thoughts rejoiced in the safety of her friend, even if he was scared half to death. However, upon closer inspection, she realized that her unwelcome guest was trying to coax Angel out from the corner. It was trying to get Angel.

Fluttershy's motherly instincts and love for animals kicked in as a rush of adrenaline surged through her. Suddenly, like a yellow and pink bolt, she suddenly appeared in front of the intruder. She immediately assumed a hostile stance between Angel and the creature, ready to defend her friend with tooth and hoof if needed. Her turquoise eyes glared up at it with deadly threats. However, it appeared as if she surprised the creature as it fell back from the pony combatant.

"You stay away from my Angel bunny, you big, scary, meanie!" Fluttershy shouted in her loudest voice she could muster, which wasn't very loud comparatively speaking. This moment of tension drug on and she could take a closer look at her intruder. She didn't know what it was, but it definitely wasn't a pony. It didn't have hooves like she did or long ears. With her vast experience of animals, she could make anatomical guesses as to where its eyes and mouth were. It didn't have fur, but instead was covered up by what appeared to be clothes. Its front legs had a little fur, but its face didn't. Its skin was tan and it mostly reminded her of a monkey with its hands, small eyes and ears.

When her eyes shot back to its face, she could see that its eyes didn't hold the bloodthirsty hunger like she had imagined, but instead appeared to be… sad and frightened. Surprised, Fluttershy slowly relaxed her stance and her face began to show newfound concern for the creature. It had stopped backing away and stared at her with its tiny eyes widened. Its eyes were so small and it had no snout.

"Asdh oda ern tybes sho piup..." It spoke suddenly, yet softly.

Fluttershy slightly tilted her head at its gibberish. Was it attempting to talk? Then again it was wearing clothes. Could it be some kind of intelligent creature capable of speech like how dragons are? "I'm sorry, I didn't understand that," she apologized nervously.

The creature stared blankly at her for a moment before appearing slightly crestfallen. Apparently, neither one of them could understand the other. Finally, it extended what it held in its hand out to Fluttershy, offering her what it had been trying to coax Angel with. It was a rather sorry looking carrot. Fluttershy glanced at the carrot, then back up at its face, trying to guess its intentions. Was it trying to make peace? Fluttershy slowly brought her mouth to the carrot, gingerly folding her lips around the vegetable. All the while, her eyes never left his as she watched for any signs of hostility. She pulled the carrot out of its grasp and withdrew her head. It seemed to be smiling. She set the carrot down where Angel was cowering, but the baby bunny had already fled the scene while the creature was being distracted by Fluttershy. She set the carrot on the ground, relieved to know that at he was at least safe.

Fluttershy turned back to her unexpected guest, "Well, thank you very much for visiting, but I think it's time for you to go on back home." She put on her best fake smile, trying to convince it was no longer welcome in her home. She knew communication would be fruitless, but she would try anyways. She tried to sound as nice as possible like she would for any other animal. The creature just lowered its head and sounded like it sighed. Then it stood on its hind legs. It was maybe a little more than two feet taller than Fluttershy and it looked around the room from its heightened point of view. It walked around on its hind legs, observing the house. It tried to speak a few more times and each time it was given the same response as its earlier attempt. After its failed attempts, it simply sat down on the floor, staring down at nothing in particular. A painful moment of silence passed as Fluttershy observed it and contemplated its attempts to communicate. It looked so sad and the night was so cold this time of year. The storm had subsided a little, but it was still raining pretty strong. It was too cold and dark for any creature to endure without a home to call its own. After all, she wanted to be friends with all animals, even those as strange looking as this one.

"Um, you can stay here for the night if you want," Fluttershy spoke softly as she walked over to where she kept the blankets. The creature's eyes followed her. Fluttershy grabbed the biggest one she could find. It would still be too small, but it was the best she could do. With the folded blanket in her mouth, she approached the creature, setting the blanket down near it. The creature stared at it for a moment before looking at her. Fluttershy put on a genuine smile to show her hospitality and gently nudged the blanket with her nose toward her guest of honor. It grasped the blanket with its hands and wrapped it around itself. Once covered, it directed a tired smile to Fluttershy. Fluttershy smiled back and pointed at the couch by the stairs before turning to go up to her bedroom.

She notices a small lump under her quilt blanket. Upon lifting the cover, she discovers a curled up Angel bunny. "Oh Angel, There's nothing to be afraid of. It's just another cold and lonely animal seeking refuge from the storm," she said, more to reassure herself. Angel didn't relax and just shrunk into a tighter ball. Fluttershy settled next to the small bunny after removing the blanket and wrapped a comforting tail around him. "I was scared too, you know, but it seems like a pretty nice animal," Fluttershy frowned as she wondered if 'animal' was the right word to use. She rested her head next to Angel's quivering body, "Don't worry. There's nothing to be afraid of." A long time passed before sleep overtook them.

Fluttershy awoke to the sun's bright rays, suggesting that the day was well into morning. She stretched her wings and looked down at the sleeping baby bunny. It was almost too precious. It pained her knowing that she would have to wake him up. She gently nudged the little white ball of fluff, "Wakey, wakey. It's time to get up." Angel sleepily swiped a paw at her face and rolled over. "Now, now, Angel, it's already almost past time for breakfast. It's time to get some food in your wittle tummy," Fluttershy encouraged. Angel just simply waved her away to go get some food. "Okay, but when I come back, you'd better be up," she warned. Angel nodded his sleepy head, still curled up in a ball.

Downstairs, she rediscovered her strange visitor sleeping on the couch as she suggested. Remembering last night, she thought it was silly to think that such a nice creature was dangerous. She wondered if there were more like it. She'd like to meet them.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. "Letter for Miss Fluttershy!" the mailpony called in.

Fluttershy's fur stood on end. She looked at the creature and then back at the door. Panicked, she rushed to the door, "There's nopony home!" She couldn't let anypony see the creature in the house.

"Oh. Well, alright then," the brown stallion assented. "Wait a minute…" he looked through the window to see who replied through the door. Fluttershy spun around to see where the creature was, who was sleeping in plain sight on the couch before, but only saw the blanket it slept with crumpled to one side of the couch. "Um… I can see you, you know," the mailpony pointed out.

Fluttershy turned back to the stallion, "So you can…" She tried to smile. She peeked through the door to see a disbelieving stallion. "Ha-ha. That was a joke. Almost had you," her nervous smile did not convince the mailpony.

"Right… Well, here's a letter addressed to a Miss Fluttershy," the mailpony held out a small piece of paper in his hoof. Fluttershy took the paper and thanked the mailpony. The stallion simply bowed and left the relieved mare to return inside her house.

Fluttershy sat on the floor for a moment, relieved of that a difficult situation had been avoided. Suddenly, the creature dropped to the ground from behind the couch. Apparently, its strength gave out as it had clung to the back of the furniture to avoid being seen. An expression of dread occupied its face as it was sure it was caught. Fluttershy giggled at the startled creature.

The rest of the day was spent learning more about her new friend. It didn't eat some pony food like grass and flowers, but it seemed to like fruits and vegetables just fine. Eventually, she thought of a name for it. Gibbers, because of the funny gibberish it spoke when it tried to communicate. She assumed that Gibbers was a male as he had pointed at himself and picture of a stallion and a mare, nodding at the stallion and shaking his head at the mare. Fluttershy taught Gibbers some pony words as well. She had never attempted to do so before, but she never met an animal that spoke any kind of official language before either. It seemed like he was even understanding what she was trying to do and was learning pretty quick. She noticed that he had black symbols stitched on his clothes which she would guess were words from his language. She didn't know what they meant, but maybe after a little while, he'll learn their language and tell her one day. Maybe he'll even become a valuable member of society one day with a job and a family. She liked the idea of an animal making a living alongside the other ponies of Ponyville. Like a turtle bucking apple trees with Applejack or a bear making clothes like her friend, Rarity. It was a silly idea, but she would be so proud.

That night, Fluttershy had just finished fixing up the couch to be a more appropriate bed. The couch was made for ponies and Gibbers was significantly taller than a pony and she hoped that the extra pillows she stacked up would help compensate for the height difference. Gibbers stepped in from the other room and approached his hostess. Fluttershy smiled back at him, "Just a moment, I'm almost done." She turned back to tuck in the final corner of the quilt blanket when suddenly, something touched her. She snapped her head back and saw Gibbers reaching out to her mane. She drew her head away from his outstretched hand, cautiously studying him, trying to guess his intentions. Gibbers frowned before giving a reassuring smile and slowly reached out to the top of Fluttershy's head. She hesitantly watched his hand reach for the base of her mane. A feeling of pure bliss reverberated through her as he combed through her mane with his hand. With each touch, a pulsating sensation rushed through her and she became more and more relaxed. Fluttershy closed her eyes as she gradually lost herself in the moment. He changed the pattern of his petting as he would sometimes massage her head, scratch behind her ears and run his hand down her neck and back. It felt so wonderful. It was like nothing she ever felt before. Soon, though, it came to an end.

Fluttershy opened her eyes to find Gibbers pulling the quilt blanket over himself. The pillows seemed to help his back some, but his feet still stuck out in the air over the armrest. He looked at her and she smiled at him, half for the silly sight and the other half just by trying to be a good hostess. She wished him sweet dreams and turned to head up the stairs. Later that night, she laid awake in her bed, confused with her emotions and the strong sensations she felt at the hands of her friend. She craved for more.

The next few days the two spent more time together, teaching and learning about each other and the world around them as best they could with such a massive language barrier between them. Each night, Fluttershy would gently nudge Gibbers's hand with her nose and he would respond by caressing her mane, back and sides. She loved every minute of it. One day, they laid on the grass in front of Fluttershy's house as the sun slowly relinquished the sky to the still darkness the moon brought. With the moon dominating the sky, Fluttershy taught Gibbers what they call the moon and stars in their language. She would point at the stars and say the pony word for them and he would try to repeat it. They did the same for the moon and anything else that came to her mind. She found his heavy accent to be very adorable and even attractive in its own way. The past few days have been very interesting and Gibbers had acted like a complete gentlecolt. She felt like they had grown closer and even Angel had warmed up to Gibbers. He even let Gibbers pet him too. Angel seemed to enjoy it just as much as she did.

As the night drug on, she caught herself staring at her newfound friend and he seemed to stare back. She looked at the clothes Gibbers had been wearing during his stay with her. She thought his clothes were very strange. He wore a jacket, pants and, when he was outside, a cap. All of which appeared to have a blocky design as if their patterns were comprised of many small squares stuck together in patches. His clothes had only three colors, light green, darker green and light tan. His boots were made of a material she wasn't familiar with, but were light tan in color as well. He had a silver-colored chain around its neck as well, which, she recently discovered held two small, flat, oval, silver discs. These discs had writing engraved on them, but she couldn't read them. Gibbers's clothing had a plethora of pockets as well. One for each shoulder, two on his chest, one on each side of his hips, two back pockets and two more pockets that ran down each leg. He wore a light tan belt with a black buckle and a matching light tan shirt underneath his jacket. She noticed that his face had gotten progressively darker each day since their first meeting with what she guessed was fur. She thought that was a little strange.

_It's odd that he's just now growing fur…_ She thought. His light bronze face appeared paler in the moonlight and though his eyes were much smaller than a pony's, they still reflected the starry night sky causing them to sparkle and shine. She thought his soft, brown eyes were so warm and welcoming. Sometimes, she would find it hard to look away when they made eye contact. His dark brown "mane" was short and neat with it being thicker on the top and thinner on the sides. Finally breaking her stare, she nestled next to him, curling her legs under her to keep warm. She wrapped her tail around her body to the front of her chest and lowered her head to the grass before her. She took a deep sigh, enjoying the cool scent of the grass at night. The fireflies affectionately danced together to the enigmatic songs of the crickets.

She felt his hand lightly run down her back. Her fur stood on end as she felt him methodically follow the gentle curves of her body. She melted in his hands and all of the stress that she had ever felt before in her life seemed to disappear little by little with each enchanting touch just as she felt almost every night since his arrival. Fluttershy rested her head on his stomach so that he could reach her mane. He felt so warm and soft. Their embrace, the night sky, the memories of past events over the past few days, the night creatures' songs and dances all seemed to culminate into this moment. It all felt so magical to the young mare, romantic even. Fluttershy blushed brightly at the thought and stole a peek at Gibbers to see if he could see her blush. He was staring up at the night sky, his cap off, and one hand placed behind his head with the other busily scratching behind her ear. She closed her eyes again, relieved he hadn't noticed her visible feelings. True, he was odd and different, but he had been so good to her these past few days. Better than any stallion she had met before. He came to her and he was hers and she was his…

The next morning, she rubbed her eyes gently with a forehoof before observing her surroundings. The bright, morning sun, peeking over horizon, cast a cheerful orange glow on the distant, snow-topped mountains and the canopy of trees at the edge of the Everfree Forest. The animals that she cared for began to compose their morning symphony of life with the sounds of chirping and movement. A light film of morning dew glistened on the grass as it reflected the brightening sky. She enjoyed the enamoring scene for a few moments before getting up and making her way back to the house. Upon opening the door, she found Gibbers sitting on the floor, using her small table as a desk as he scribbled on some paper with a purple crayon. Gibbers noticed her and brought her the paper that he had been working on. Fluttershy immediately gasped upon seeing the paper. _How could he know? _Fluttershy looked up at Gibbers and he returned her questioning expression with pleading eyes. She looked back at the paper.

She stared at the drawing of three poorly drawn ponies. Though the quality of the drawing was lacking, she still easily recognized the identity of the three figures. One was obviously her represented by a pink, flowing mane and a yellow pony body. Then there was an arrow drawn out from her side, pointing at an all too familiar purple unicorn. '_Twilight',_ Fluttershy mouthed. Then, her eyes widened as she followed the arrow that led from Twilight to none other than,_ 'Princess Celestia'_.

"Why would you want to go meet her?" Fluttershy asked, confused. Gibbers said nothing, but kneeled down to her eye level, placing a hand on the side of her face. Fluttershy gazed into his eyes that earnestly begged for what he asked. His thumb gently stroked her cheek a few times before he stood and walked over to his temporary bed. Fluttershy followed him as he took the quilted blanket from his sleeping area and wrapped it around himself. He dropped to all fours and pulled the blanket over his head. Fluttershy watched him curiously as he took a rope, tied it around himself and gave the other end to Fluttershy.

She stood there for a moment, staring at the rope in her hoof before looking back at Gibbers. He had completely covered himself up, including his legs and face. It seemed pretty silly to do and it seemed like it would be pretty difficult for him to see out as well as for anyone to see in. Then, she realized his intentions. It was a disguise. It was a long walk across Ponyville to Twilight's house and no doubt he would frighten the ponies that lived there with his unusual appearance. Fluttershy tied a loop in her end of the rope and fitted it around her neck. Whatever happens, she had to keep him a secret. If anypony found out about him… she shook her head to keep herself from imagining the worst. If this is what he wants, then that's what he deserves.

The walk from Fluttershy's house to the edge of Ponyville had been very much uneventful, which is exactly what Fluttershy had been hoping for. However, it wasn't that part what worried her. It was the walk through town that made her stomach churn. She tried to swallow the lump in her throat as she strode casually through town with the most nonchalant attitude she could manage. '_Maybe a little too casual,'_ she thought, noticing her slow pace. She walked a little more briskly, as if with purpose, careful not to pull too hard on the "pony" that hobbled behind her.

"Hey, Fluttershy!" a familiar voice called out. Fluttershy's heart skipped a beat before racing madly. Her wide eyes snapped to her right to see a certain purple and green baby dragon waving his free hand in the air above his head, his other arm laden with a bundle of scrolls and quills. Spike was Twilight's number one assistant. Then again, he was Twilight's only assistant.

"Hello, Spike!" Fluttershy shouted back in her own quiet way. Her hoofsteps quickened, hoping to avoid any further conversation. The rope pulled tight on her secret friend and caused the would-be pony to stumble and fall. Fluttershy quickly ran to help her friend up before they drew too much attention to themselves. The sound of little footsteps ran up to the two clumsy ponies.

"Hey, who's your friend and why are they wrapped in a blanket? For that matter, why did you put a leash on them?" Spike questioned, raising an eyebrow.

Fluttershy quickly tried to come up with an excuse. "Oh, um, well, he's sick," she lied weakly as Gibbers finally found the ground with his "hooves".

Thankfully, Spike's naivety believed her. "Oh, ok then," Spike glanced at the walking quilt as they walked together. "What's his name?"

"Gibbers," Fluttershy quickly said.

"Huh. Never heard of a name like that before," Spike pondered.

"That's because he's not from around h-," Fluttershy quickly tried to swallow her sentence before she said too much, but it was too late.

"Really? Then, where is he - ?"

"Do you know if Twilight is home because I would _really _like to speak with her," Fluttershy interrupted with a smile, trying to hide her nervousness.

"Well, as far as I know she is," Spike looked up as he spoke as if thinking out loud. "I mean, she was there when I left, but she did say she needed to run some of her own errands today too." Spike thought for a moment before adding, "You know, you're the second pony to ask about Twilight because Pinkie Pie was just here and – "

Fluttershy abruptly stopped, causing the wobbler behind her to crash into her. "Pinkie Pie is here?" she exclaimed. She knew what the pink blur was capable of. That hyperactive, pink, party-loving pony would do everything she could to meet the mysterious newcomer and that pink pony was capable of a lot of things. Fluttershy hastily searched her surroundings.

"Oh look! A house!" Fluttershy pointed a fully outstretched foreleg at the nearest house, "Just what we were looking for!" Fluttershy hurriedly tugged at the rope to get Gibbers out of the open as soon as ponily possible.

Spike stared at the two with a frown and a raised eyebrow as they entered Berry Punch's house, "Um… Fluttershy? What are you doing breaking into somepony else's house?"

"I haven't broken anything. Door's still intact," Fluttershy laughed nervously back, tapping the wooden door reassuringly before closing it. Her voice was heavily laced with her signature panic even though she tried to hide it. Hopefully, Spike will believe her and just leave them alone, but no, there was a knock at the door.

"Fluttershy? Are you ok? You're acting really weird," Spike sympathized through the door.

"I'm fine! Go away!" Fluttershy rebuked.

There was a brief moment of silence. "Well, alright, but if you need any help, you know where to find me," Spike's footsteps could be faintly heard through the door that Fluttershy pressed her ear to. She looked back at the living quilt and sighed, releasing the breath that she was holding. She sat on the wood floor, her eyes closed. "That was close," she sighed again. After a moment, Gibbers peeked through a small opening in the blanket, trying to observe his surroundings. Realizing that it wasn't Twilight's library, but a dark, normal house, he looked to his guide. Fluttershy sat there, her back to the door, head hung low and eyes closed. Gibbers waddled next to her and nuzzled her side with his quilt-face.

"Oh, Gibbers…" Fluttershy whispered, clearly exhausted. "Now what?" Gibbers just replied with a gentle nudge. "Why do you want to see the Princesses anyways? Are you leaving?" she could feel Gibbers sit beside her and soon, she felt his fingers comb through her mane. Fluttershy smiled softly as she reminisced of their time together. His hand stopped to rest on her cheek. She opened her eyes to meet his. He had unveiled his face and was looking deeply into her eyes. She felt her heart flutter as she lost herself in his stare. His eyes were desperate and pleading. He knew he couldn't do it on his own. He needed her help.

Fluttershy sighed and looked away, "I'm sorry we have to hide, but it's not safe out there right now." Gibbers's hand left her cheek as she spoke. "Please don't be upset with me," she begged quietly. She received no response back and she looked back at him for reassurance, but instead of seeing his eyes, she saw him standing and staring out through the window carved in the door. The quilt blanket and rope laid in a sloppy heap beneath him. An expression of determination and worry mixed together on his face and a sense of duty seemed to surround his whole body.

"What is it?" Fluttershy asked, sensing danger from Gibbers' sudden change in mood. He didn't say anything. His fists clenched tight and his jaw was taut. Something was definitely wrong. She rose to her hooves. Soon, she noticed that a very peculiar sound had been gradually growing in volume while the two were in the house. It was very strange. It was rhythmic and deep. And it was getting louder. Stranger yet, it somehow sounded like it came from above. She stood on her hind legs with her forehooves on the door to look through the hole too, but didn't see anything. "Gibbers, what's wrong?" she tugged at his sleeve. Gibbers gently pushed Fluttershy aside and opened the door. "Gibbers?" she called out.

Gibbers strode out into the clearing, the strange sound getting louder and louder. It sounded so loud and yet, it was distant at the same time. The ponies that were going about their daily activities had noticed the sound too and were looking up, in the direction of the sound. Some had noticed Gibbers and warily retreated into the nearest building they could find. Others, feeling a sense of foreboding, ran back to their homes. Gibbers stood out in the middle of the clearing, staring up at the sky.

"Gibbers! Please! Come back! I'm scared!" Fluttershy called out from the safety of the house. Gibbers gave no response and seemed to ignore her completely. The sound was getting to the point that it would be hard to talk over. "Please!" she yelled out before the sound would soon drown out all sound completely. A breeze picked up and grew in strength. Papers from another room blew around the house. The wind and sound rattled windows in their frames and doors were swinging open and closed wildly. All of the ponies had evacuated the clearing into nearby buildings.

From inside the house, Fluttershy couldn't see where the source of the flurry was. Working up with as much courage as possible, she took a few steps out from the doorway and looked to the sky where Gibbers was staring. What she saw terrified her. It was big, black and seemed to be made of metal. She could see the dull, cloudy sky through an odd, grey circle that seemed to hover above it. It was descending nearer and nearer to Gibbers, who remained unmoving, watching the flying metal beast descend. Fluttershy was too scared to move. Her body, frozen stiff, was unable to follow her mind's command. _Run_.

The metal beast neared the ground and she could see others like Gibbers hanging out the side of it. They were dressed differently and were smiling. It sounded like they were cheering and happily calling out to each other. They seemed different though, almost like they were dangerous. She felt a strong sense of foreboding and dread. She had to warn the girls as soon as possible. She ran back into the house, through the papers that whipped around in the gusts of wind from the metal flyer, and flew away out the back door.

Michael stared up at the helicopter as it neared the end of its flight. He knew these men were trouble just by the recklessness of landing a helicopter in a town and the obscenities they shouted at one another as they cheered at the discovery of another human. Michael thought about his young, pony friend. Hopefully, she hid just as the other ponies had done. He would hate to think about what these men were capable of, especially since they were armed with a plethora of weapons unlike himself, who was unarmed. Finally, they landed and they cheered and shouted greetings over the thunderous blades that had kept the machine aloft. Michael could hear the helicopter's engine dying down and the blades began their slow deceleration. Two of the men jumped off and ran up to Michael. One wore a blue, long-sleeve, button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows and an open black vest with khaki dress pants and black dress shoes. The other wore a red polo shirt with dark blue jeans and white sneakers.

"Hey there! Fancy meeting us here, right?" the blue shirted one shouted playfully. Michael said nothing and instead took a careful look at his addresser. This first man that spoke wore the blue button-up shirt and his belly protruded out a little from his heavy set body. He was slightly taller than Michael and his breath smelled of alcohol. He had a few unidentifiable brown stains on his wrinkled, blue shirt and had a sloppy five o' clock shadow for facial hair. His small, silver, circle-rimmed glasses sat on the bridge of his nose and his thinning hair messily rode the top of his head.

"It's alright, friend! When I first met us, I was pretty shocked at our ugly mugs too!" the other laughed. The second man to speak wore the red polo and his weight appeared to be more evenly distributed, giving him the appearance of having a strong build without the muscles. He was a good head shorter than Michael and his breath was free of alcohol. He had a goatee that neatly surrounded his mouth and had hair that appeared to be a longer version of the standard military haircut, short on the sides and longer on top.

"Who are you?" Michael shouted over the dying sound of the helicopter.

"Well, I'm Dave," the man in the blue shirt said, "a human of course. And this one here is Rob." he motioned towards the man in the red polo. "Not quite sure what he is though!" He laughed.

"Nor am I!" Rob joined in his friend's laughter. "By the way, you're Army right? What's a strong, straight forward soldier like yourself doing in a place like this anyways?" The sound of the helicopter was winding down and was nearing the point of normal speaking level. The other men remained on the steel bird. "What's your rank anyways? Sergeant?" Rob questioned.

"He's a Private, Rob," Dave pointed out to his friend.

"Well, I wouldn't know. I've never been exposed to that sort of thing," Rob explained defensively. Then he leaned in towards Michael, "Too many rules if you ask me." Rob gave the soldier a quick, comical wink.

Michael looked back at the helicopter and noticed a tall, muscular man exit the helicopter. His short, white hair, though thick, revealed that he was relatively old, but his dark tan, fit body showed that he was far from slowing down. He wore a white tank top that contoured to his muscled torso with a green, pilot's jacket on top. His light blue jeans ended with dark brown boots. He casually sucked on a cigar and a white stubble beard outlined a friendly smile that made the wrinkles around his eyes deepen even more. It was a genuine smile, but Michael didn't trust him. Everything about this guy reeked of trouble. The man stopped a few steps from the helicopter's wide open side, one thumb in a pocket and the other hand holding a cigar to his lips. He stood there as if he were in charge, confident that no one will challenge his authority.

"That's Jack," Dave whispered to the young soldier, "He's the leader of us sorry bunch of chaps."

"Looks like he wants to have a word with ya," Rob suggested.

Michael stood straight and strode past the two comics and approached the authoritative man before him. He stared straight at the face of the one they call Jack, holding eye contact. He was careful to also be aware of the other men on the bird as they were armed and gave the impression that they were hungry for violence and itching for some action. Michael's face was hard with a soldier's confidence, masking his fear, as he approached the supposed leader of the ragtag group. Upon nearing him, Michael noticed that Jack was at least a head taller than he was.

"So, you're Army huh?" Jack seethed through his cigar. "That's cool. What's your name kid?" His smile was genuine, but his words weren't. Something else amused this man.

"Michael," the young soldier spoke curtly.

"That's not what your uniform says," Jack smiled mockingly, raising an eyebrow.

"Somehow, I doubt Jack is your real name as well," Michael retorted.

Jack laughed heartily and shrugged, "Yeah, well, ya got me kid." Jack raised a hand to remove the tobacco from his clenched teeth. "So, whatcha doin' here anyways kid?"

"You tell me why you're here first."

Jack chuckled, "Ok, ok. You're confident, kid. I like that, but there's no need for the hostility though." Jack returned the cigar to his mouth to enjoy a good, long puff as if trying to relax before having to deal with something that he would expect to end badly. He was smiling that amused smile of his the whole time.

"Ok, so, me," Jack placed a hand on his chest before extending it out to the rest of his gag, "and all of these, laughable excuses for men, are…" Jack thought for a moment, and then continued, holding a hand over his heart and squinted his eyes as if trying to appear sincere, "but mere businessmen making an honest living acquiring the finer qualities of nature's creatures for the prosperity of the superior species, that's us, kid." He winked as he took another good puff of his cigar and gave a big toothy grin.

"You're poachers," Michael accused. "You're here to kill and capture these ponies for profit." Michael tried to keep his calm, military bearing, though his anger was rising. He knew full well that a man like Jack could easily overtake him.

"Now, now, kid," Jack shook his head and waved his hand through the air as if dismissing the comment. "You got us all wrong. We're indiscriminate. We'll kill whatever'll give us good money. Not just ponies." He chuckled at that last part as he clenched his cigar between his teeth.

"These ponies are intelligent beings and have done nothing to you. I won't let you harm them," Michael felt an overwhelming amount of anger and fear build up inside him as he stood before this monster of a man.

Jack chuckled softly and took an arrogant puff of his cigar as if expecting that reply, "Oh yeah, you look so scary there, standing there without a weapon." When he saw Michael was unmoving and resolute, he slouched in disbelief. He removed the cigar and let his hand drop to his side. He looked at Michael with a sideways glance, squinting, as if trying to see if Michael was joking, "Really, kid? Seriously?" He looked around as if looking for an explanation and turned back to Michael. "They're ponies, kid. Just ponies. They're not human."

"And yet, they still have more humanity than you do."

Jack didn't like Michael's insult. He didn't like being disrespected at all, especially when it came from someone who was so much younger than he was. He In fact, he got pretty upset. "And who are you, kid? Some kind of self-righteous defender of Ponyland?"

Dave and Rob followed Michael to their leader and quickly realized that the situation was soon about to get out of hand. "Hold up there, Jack," Rob respectfully warned. "Let's not do anything too drastic. The guy probably had a rough time adjusting to this place and more than likely misses home." Dave nodded in agreement. Michael said nothing in regard to Rob's comment and just glared up at the leader.

Jack spat at the ground before taking a quick puff of his cigar and looked out at the horizon. The sun was hanging low, but still promised a few hours of daylight left. "Ya know what, kid?" He said, removing his cigar. "There's still some time left today." Jack returned his stare to meet Michael's, "I think we've still got time for one more load!" He shouted that last sentence causing all the men on the helicopter to cheer and jump off. The helicopter's engine revved up and began to set the massive blades in motion. Dave and Rob just shrugged at each other and proceeded to board the helicopter.

"What are you doing?" Michael demanded. The men began running into the buildings.

Jack shrugged nonchalantly, "Being indiscriminate." Soon, the men were dragging crying ponies out of their houses, adults and fillies alike.

"Call your men off!" Michael commanded.

"Whoa, there, kid. Don't do anything life threatening like shake your fists," Jack chortled with a mischievous, evil grin, "I'm too young to die." He took yet another arrogant puff of his cigar to punctuate his mocking remark. Michael could see some of the ponies defending themselves as best they could by bucking their assailants with their back legs and charging at their children's captors. However, as brave as their efforts were, they were quickly put down with multiple vicious shocks from the men's tazers. Each shock was accompanied with a sickening electrical snap and the injured ponies were left lying in a twitching heap on the ground, alive, but unconscious and in pain. One of the men readied his assault rifle to deal with a particularly troublesome poofy-maned, pink pony. Jack called out to the man with the rifle, "Hey, you! Put your gun away! You'll ruin their pelts! Use the tazers!"

Michael couldn't stand looking at the scene anymore as his anger rose to an uncontrollable intensity. "Stop it now!" Michael shouted.

"Nope," Jack calmly replied.

Michael felt so helpless to stop the mass ponynapping. The men were armed and Jack was twice as strong as he was. He wasn't going to just stand here and let it happen though. Michael clenched his fists and took a step back, twisting his torso to charge his initial strike with all of his strength. It might be a death wish, but he didn't care. Rage had removed all reason and replaced it with violent intent. Time slowed to a near halt. The air was filled with the crying of ponies, the laughter of men, and the nauseating pop of electricity. He launched his fist forward with all of the force he could generate, uncoiling his body from its spring-loaded stance. His shoulders and hips moved with his attack, adding more power to it. His fist came within inches of the gut of his enemy. He was going to take him out and die trying.


End file.
